Mehta: Sam Darnold has the skills, smarts and demeanor to lead Jets to Super heights

He’s been undaunted by the responsibility, pressure and angst that typically comes with being a 21-year-old savior. He’s been the picture of calm from the moment that he fell into the Jets’ lap on Draft Day four months ago.

Sam Darnold is ready for the gargantuan task of being the face of a star-crossed franchise seemingly cursed for the better part of a half century.

“I embrace it,” Darnold said. "But I understand every single day that it's a process to come in here and earn respect. I'm not going to come in here and demand it."

He is almost too good to be true, a mature rookie quarterback who has passed every test this summer. He is calm, poised and ready to tackle the biggest challenge of his life. He has grown men skipping to work daily, overjoyed that this special talent is one of them now.

"I absolutely think that he can be our quarterback of the future," CEO and Chairman Christopher Johnson said this summer. "I'm not the G.M., I'm not the head coach, but I can recognize a great football player… I think we've got a real future with this kid…. We might have a long time with this young man. And I hope so because right now he is really our future."

Jets' fortunes will rest on young shoulders of rookie quarterback Sam Darnold, who has shown the maturity in the preseason to become the new face of the franchise. (Alex Brandon / AP)

Darnold has proven to be more than just the future. He’s the present, too.

Nothing has rattled him. His football acumen and ability to adjust and adapt to this advanced level of football has been something to behold. He’s far from perfect, but the resilience he shows after making a mistake has given hope to an organization stuck in a seemingly endless search for a star to shine in the most important position in American team sports.

“I knew he was smart,” Todd Bowles said. “Everybody learns differently. You don't know until you get in and throw the playbook at him and see what they can comprehend and what they can't. He's done a great job of remembering everything and playing with poise and control. I'm happy with where he is.

“He will learn some things as he goes,” Bowles added. “He accepts everything. He understands everything. He applies it the next time around without making the same mistake. That is a good trait to have.”

Sam Darnold (Nick Wass / AP)

The summer of 2017 might be remembered as the most important in franchise history given all the dynamics at play.

The Jets, mired in a seven-year playoff drought and coming off back-to-back five-win seasons, quickly and smartly pivoted after losing out on the Kirk Cousins Sweepstakes in free agency. They signed Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater before setting the stage for a brilliantly mapped out trade with the Colts to move up from No. 6 to No. 3 in the draft.

That deal — the lynchpin of the entire offseason — positioned the franchise to ultimately get Darnold after the Browns took Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 overall pick and the Giants opted for running back Saquon Barkley.

"I honestly think they're going to look back 20 years from now and say that this is the moment that the Jets shifted into a new gear — that they became a great team,” Johnson said about the 2017 offseason.

Time will reveal the truth, but that trade looks better and better with each passing day. Darnold has been better than advertised, a SoCal kid with northeast grit, ready to kick derriere.

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If there were any lingering doubt about the Jets’ immediate quarterback plans, the team’s decision to trade Bridgewater to the Saints on Aug. 29 made it crystal clear that they’re ready to go forward with Darnold.

“I think I can thrive in any situation,” the rookie said.

Darnold’s rate of development over the past few months has made decision makers downright giddy about what the future might hold. Sometimes, they have to step back and realize that it wasn’t long ago that he couldn’t legally walk into a bar and order a drink.

“Number one is just how easy the game is for him, both mentally and physically,” offensive coordinator Bates said about what’s impressed him the most about his young pupil. “We haven't scaled back offensively. We were giving Sam the same amount of information and same plays as we were giving Josh and Teddy. He’s able to take the classroom knowledge and all the stuff he’s studied in the classroom and take it right to the field and execute it. We’re throwing a lot of football at him and he’s been able to handle it…. He’s owned the playbook.”

Darnold is a football junkie. He works smart every day because he wants to be great. His work ethic is commendable. His desire to absorb information will ultimately help him – and his team – become relevant again.

Perhaps Darnold’s most impressive quality is his ability to compartmentalize all the moving parts in his life. He hopped from one coast to the other, unafraid of what awaits him. He’s all ball all the time. He studies and prepares. His focus is astounding.

“Mentally, he’s sharp,” Bates said. “He loves the game. He’s tough. He’s everything that you’re looking for in a young quarterback… The game is not too big for him. The stage isn’t too big for him. When the lights come on, he gets better.”

Darnold’s ability to transfer lessons learned in the classroom to the field has been critical in these early stages of his development, too.

“I’m always looking to get better at really just processing information… because that’s what the quarterback position is all about, no matter what level you’re playing at,” Darnold said. “It’s about being able to eliminate one side, eliminate one player just based on matchup leverages, coverage. So, it’s really about digesting all that information pre-snap, and then post-snap being able to digest it as fast as you can, which is kind of the name of the game at any level of football.”

Darnold is set to become the second youngest quarterback to start an NFL game. He’s going to make mistakes along the way, but the promise of something big awaits.

“There's nothing about him that looks like he has that deer in the headlights feel,” Johnson said. “I think he'll be fine."